Mining Incidents

Screener #1: 19 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Kern Excavating LLC · Surface
Controlled by Rodney M Kern
Palisade, Aitkin County, MN  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 2103589

Screener #1 has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2009
19
citations
3
significant & substantial
$2,503
proposed penalties
$2,503
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2007
20
inspections on record
114
inspection hours
n/a
citations per 100 inspection hours
This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.
Rate withheld: 114 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Screener #1 has $3K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 contested dockets.

Penalty disposition
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$3K
proposed penalties
$3K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
19 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2016-06-14.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
Violation severity profile
Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.
15.8%
significant & substantial
5.3%
high negligence or reckless
15.8%
reasonably likely or greater
31.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 31.6% low, 63.2% moderate, 5.3% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Hegman Kern Excavating 2007 to 2014
  2. Kern Excavating LLC 2014 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2016 2
2015 1
2014 2
2013 2
2012 2
2011 1
2010 1
2009 1
2008 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Screener #1 sits in Aitkin County, Minnesota, where the Census mining category is 0.7% of county employment.

Local economic context
County figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 5-year pooled estimates, so the 2023 vintage covers 2019 through 2023. The Census category is 'mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction', which is broader than MSHA jurisdiction and includes oil and gas workers no mine employs. These figures describe the surrounding county, not this mine, and are not a factor in any specific incident.
Aitkin County, Minnesota · Population 15,930
0.7%
Mining share of county employment
$59,498
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
Quarterly safety rates
Citations per million reported employee-hours. Rates begin in 2000, when MSHA's quarterly employment data starts; earlier incidents are counted but cannot be rate-adjusted. Quarters under 100,000 reported hours are greyed: too few hours for a stable rate.
Citations per million employee-hours, as reported to MSHA
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2016 Q3 17 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 11 3 0 272727.3
2015 Q1 1 1 0 1000000.0
2014 Q4 3 3 1 1000000.0
2014 Q3 36 2 0 55555.6
2014 Q2 21 3 1 142857.1
2014 Q1 1 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 1 0 0 0.0
Show 10 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2013 Q2 28 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 30 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 1 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 36 3 0 83333.3
2011 Q1 0 1 0
2010 Q2 39 2 1 51282.1
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2009 Q2 65 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 44 0 0 0.0

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.